The Princess and the Mercenary
by Armored Shiny
Summary: The Kingdom of Petalburg is being attacked by the Kingdom of Twinleaf, now the King of Petalburg hires a dangerous mercenary to lead the royal guards and repel the attacks... Contains Advanceshipping
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

**So uhh... this is my third fanfic...  
Nothing else to say :D**

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**The Princess and the Mercenary**

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**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

It was a normal day in the Petalburg kingdom; the people were busy with their own business, it was a peaceful day, until a mysterious stranger came.

The stranger had black hair, with a red bandanna that covered his forehead; we wore the same armor that knights wear but his upper body is covered by a torn blood-red cape; he also had a fanny pack where he puts his snacks like biscuits or fruits; he wields a great sword that is strapped on his back. The stranger's name is Ash Ketchum, also known as 'The Devil'. Ash is 16 years old, despite the fact that he's a mercenary with a high reputation due to his leading and battling skills; Ash is feared by many and only few are brave enough to engage in battle with him.

*_Flashback*_

_Ash was in a bar where most mercenaries 'hang out'. It was a normal day for some of the mercenaries, they have nothing to do, no jobs no anything, all that they could do is drink 'some' beer and forget about their problems and about what happened in their past. (Note: I only know less about mercenaries, but in this story, let's just say that most of the mercenaries are not really bad guys, they just take jobs for money, for their family, and most of the mercenaries have a terrible past and most of them wanted revenge)_  
_Ash was drinking some beer until someone sat beside him, he handed Ash a letter and said "The king had a job for you…"  
"What's the reward?" Ash asked while reading the letter  
"Anything" Ash's eyes widened at what the messenger said  
"__**Anything? **__Well that's funny, looks like the king don't know what __**Anything**_ _really means, and it could mean __**Everything**__ if I want to…"  
The messenger chuckled at Ash's statement "Well, of course the king would have some 'limitations'"  
"Yeah, yeah, I got it" Ash rolled his eyes "Tell the king that I accept his request, and that we'll talk about the reward at the castle"  
"If that's what you wish," The messenger stood up, preparing to leave "Now if you don't mind, I shall take my leave"  
Ash smirked when he read the letter again 'What should be the reward?', Ash thought to himself_

_*End of Flashback*_

As Ash was walking down the streets, he received glares from the townsfolk, he noticed that some of them are whispering something, but he just ignored them. After minutes of walking he finally reached the castle gates of the Petalburg Castle, there were two guards and as he was about to enter the castle gates he was stopped by one of the guards.  
"Stop! You are not allowed to come inside." Said the first guard.  
"Pardon me, but I have an appointment with the king." Said Ash with a calm voice.  
"Prove to us that you have an appointment with the king." Said the second guard.  
Ash handed them a letter that the king sent to him; the two guards hesitated at first, they stared at each other for a few seconds and nodded.  
They allowed Ash to enter the castle.  
"I never thought that the king would be so desperate." The first one said  
"Me too" The second one agreed

Ash was walking through the castle's garden but stopped when he saw a beautiful girl trying to pet a kitten, but the kitten was afraid at the girl. Ash went to the girl, crouched beside her and took a biscuit from his fanny pack and placed it on his palm. The kitten walked slowly towards Ash and ate the biscuit and licked his gloves.  
"What are you waiting for? Pet him now." Ash commanded  
"O-okay" said the girl, she hesitated at first, but she stroked the kitten's fur gently. The kitten was no longer afraid of the girl, and the girl was happy because of this. Ash was about to leave but the girl grabbed his arm  
"Wait! I wanted to know your name." the girl said, not letting go of Ash's arm  
"You don't need to know, it would just be a waste of time for the both of us." Said Ash coldly, keeping his eye away from the girl  
"It's not a waste of time for me, besides; I don't have a lot of friends in here." Said the girl while leaning in front of her to see Ash's face  
"Like do I care" said Ash silently to himself but is loud enough for the girl to hear  
"You're so mean!" the girl whined  
"And so what?" Ash finally broke free from the girl and glared at her  
"Hmph!" the girl turned her back on Ash, crossing her arms "How rude of you, not even asking my name"  
Ash let out a sigh of defeat "May I have your name, miss…?"  
The girl turned to Ash and gave him a smile "My name is May, and I'm the daughter of King Norman"  
May was about 15 years old, and was wearing a sapphire-colored dress, the same color of her eyes, blue stockings and blue long gloves (gloves that reaches above the elbow)  
"So, you're the princess?" asked Ash with a plain expression on his face. May nodded, smiling at Ash  
"It's nice meeting you and all, but I should take my leave" Ash rolled his eyes and was about to leave (again) but the girl grabbed his arm (again).  
"Not until you tell your name" said May in a childish tone.

"I already told-"Ash was about to answer but stopped when he heard the King's voice  
"May, what are you doing here?" The king said, trying not to raise his voice  
"I was just playing in the-"  
"Go back in your room, we'll talk later." King Norman commanded  
"But father!"  
"Now!" The King finally shouted because of her daughter's persistence  
"Yes Father" said May while walking slowly towards the castle  
"Follow me, let's 'talk' in my throne room" The King commanded  
"Yes, Your Highness" Ash followed the king.

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_A few minutes later_

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The king was sitting on his throne with the queen and two royal guards at his side, while Ash is standing at the middle of the room.  
"So have you decided on what should be your reward?" The king asked  
"Yes I have" Ash smirked  
"Okay, but before you tell me what you want, I'll repeat my request," The king leaned down on his throne "I want you to be the captain of the royal guards. Every week, our kingdom is being attacked by the Twinleaf Army; the Queen of the Twinleaf Kingdom declared war against us, and I'm sure that you know that we are peace loving people, so we would just defend the kingdom until their attacks would stop, but…." The king stopped...  
"As time passes by, their attacks kept on getting stronger" Queen Caroline continued "Last week, the royal guards successfully defended the kingdom against the attack, but they received many casualties. I'm afraid that the royal guards won't be successful next time."  
"I'll give you anything that I can give, just help us defend our kingdom. I want you to think carefully about what reward you want." Said King Norman in a worried tone….  
"I want the princess" said Ash in a calm voice. All of the people in the room gasped, the King and the Queen, the guards and the servants.  
"Insolence!" The King roared angrily

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_Meanwhile at May's room a few minutes ago_

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May had a large room, it had a king sized bed, a bathroom, a balcony, a dresser with a large mirror, a study table and two large cabinet for May's clothes. May was at the balcony, 'That guy I met earlier was a little cute', May blushed wildly red because of what she thought, 'What am I thinking! I bet father would be mad at me once he discover this', May just sighed while staring at the town in the distance. May was in deep thought until she heard something  
"Meow" the kitten meowed softly. May jumped a little because of what she heard.  
"Oh it's you little guy" said May while carrying the kitten "How did you get here?"  
The kitten pointed at the vines at the walls (Note: Let's just say that this kitten is intelligent compared to the other cats)  
"Oh, you should not be here, I'll take you back at the garden…." the kitten's expression changed from happy to sad because of what May said "…after we went to the kitchen" the kitten meowed happily and jumped towards May's shoulder and the two went towards the kitchen.

After they went to the kitchen, May decided to go to the throne room and check his father, but stopped in front of the door. May peeked at the small crack at the door and saw the stranger she met earlier talking with the king and the king doesn't seem to be happy.

"Insolence!" The King roared angrily "You expect me to reward you with 'that'!"  
"Well, you said **anything**" said Ash in a calm but rude tone "besides, if you won't give what I want, I won't accept your request"  
Ash was about to leave the throne room but was stopped by the king.  
"Wait, I could give you information about your family, Ash Ketchum." Said the king with a threatening tone  
"So this guy's name is Ash…" May said to herself  
"I already know what everything about that 'incident'" Said Ash, facing the King boldly "In fact, I was about to do this for free but it would be foolish if I would do so."  
"So you already know…"  
"Well, it was I who tortured and killed the King of Twinleaf" said Ash clenching his fists "That bastard burned Pallet Town and slaughtered the villagers there, including my family!"  
The King's eyes widened because of what Ash said "So you mean you're the one that ambushed his caravan?!"  
"My band and I, it wasn't that hard anyway." Said Ash "And don't change the subject, do we have a deal or not?"  
The king let out a sigh of defeat "When would you want to get your reward"  
"This very day…" Ash replied

"Are you crazy!? Don't be a fool Norman" whispered Queen Caroline to King Norman  
"I know what I'm doing" answered Norman

"Okay, I'll let you have our daughter, but once I have discovered that you have done 'bad' things to our daughter, I shall have your head served in a platter." Norman said coldly  
Ash smirked "It's nice working with you…"

Ash left the room and noticed that May was outside  
"Hey Ash, what did father mean?" asked May curiously  
"It's something that you wouldn't want to know" said Ash while walking down the hallway  
"Aaash?" asked May in a childish tone, trying to get his attention "Could you do me a favor, pleaaase?"  
"No." said Ash coldly  
"Pretty please!" Ash looked at May, who was doing her puppy dog eyes. Ash let out a sigh of defeat  
"Fine."  
"Yay!"  
"What's your request?" said Ash, who continued walking down the hallway  
"You see, I've never been outside the castle, father said that it's dangerous outside, that I should just stay here." Said May who was walking backwards so that she could see Ash's face "Could you please take me outside?"  
"No. It's a bad idea."  
"C'mon! You already said yes!"  
"I didn't say 'yes', I said 'fine'" said Ash, rolling his eyes. May was about to trip because she was walking backwards but was saved by Ash; both of them blushed deeply red.  
"Fine, but you can't just go there with that outfit, you would attract too much attention" said Ash who was helping May stand up. "Can't you just dress formally?"  
"Well, I've got some other dresses and gowns" Ash just face palmed and took something from his fanny pack. Ash took a cloak and gave it to May.  
"Here wear this."  
May wore the cloak and they both walked towards the gate with the kitten on May's shoulder.

When they reached the gate, they saw the guards playing chess  
"You know, I'm starting to feel that the author of this fanfiction really hates us." Said the first guard  
"What do you mean?" asked the second guard  
"I mean, of all the roles they could give us, why the castle guard, I mean, it's not like there would be any intruders or thieves that would break in and out" said the first guard with a lonely voice  
"You're not making any sense" said the second one with a confused tone "CHECKMATE!"  
"GRRRAAAA!" The first one shouted angrily.

Ash and May slipped out of the gates without the guards noticing them. Ash and May went to the town; Ash was trying to look for a house to rent, while May was trying to pull Ash into the shops. Ash just gave a sigh of defeat as he saw May's irresistible puppy-dog eyes. May bought some clothes; she bought a red shirt with a blue collar, a white skirt, blue biking shorts, white and blue sneakers and gloves, and a red bandanna (Note: The clothes that she wore at the Hoenn Region)

At the end of the day, they were sitting at the edge of the cliff while staring at the beautiful sunset.  
"Hey Ash, thank you for taking me out of the castle today."  
There was no answer from Ash  
"Are thinking about your family?" asked May to Ash who was watching the sunset  
"Please don't talk about them" replied Ash with a lonely but kind tone  
"Okay, I'm sorry. You know Ash, you're a kind person, even though you're a mercenary" said May while leaning over Ash's shoulder.  
"You know nothing about us mercenaries. Well May, it's time to go home now" said Ash while trying to stand up. Ash also helped May stand which made her blush.

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_A few minutes later, at the castle gates._

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Ash and May came at the castle gates (May was wearing her dress and the cloak that Ash gave to her) and were surprise to see the guards playing cards this time, May slipped through the guards but Ash decided not to come closer. Before Ash left, he waved goodbye to May, and May did the same to Ash.

May removed her cloak and went to the castle and the kitten was sleeping at May's shoulder and May did her best not to wake it up. She went to her room and lied at her bed, and within seconds, she fell asleep.

While Ash went back to the town and searched for the house that he was about to rent. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found the small house and talked to the owner. The house is small but is enough for 2-3 people, there's the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom and 2 bedrooms. After minutes of 'talking', he finally rented the house and immediately went to the bedroom. After slipping into his sleeping garments, he immediately jumped into his bed and drifted to sleep.

But unfortunately, Ash had a nightmare...

_It was a peaceful day in Pallet Town, and Ash was playing with his friends at the park. Pallet is a small town covered by trees to keep them safe from intruders. A few minutes later, Ash's parents, along with his brother, Cain, came. Cain was a year older than Ash; he had blond hair, he was wearing blue T-shirt with yellow stripes, and he also wore brown cargo pants. He had an upside-down-star symbol on his forehead, his back, and on his palm.  
"Let's go home now Ash" Ash's mother said while smiling  
"Aww! I don't want to go home yet!" replied young Ash  
"Your mother's right, it's getting late, let's go" Ash's father said  
"Alright..." Ash said before waving goodbye at his friends  
"Bye Ash!" Ash's friends yelled. The happy family started walking home. _

_They walked silently, but Cain broke the silence  
"Hey Ash, let's train later after dinner!" Cain said excitedly, but their father just crossed his arms  
"I disagree, I want the both of you to grow and live like humans, to live normally without being feared by them"  
"But father! This power is a gift given to us! Are we just going to waste that?!" Cain yelled  
"And where did you learn that, young man?" their mother asked as she raised a brow  
"The library" Cain responded. Ash just snickered at his brother's answer._

_ A few seconds later, an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the back of Ash's father, and unfortunately, the arrow was coated by a strong poison that could kill a person within seconds. Ash immediately ran towards his father's side to assist him  
"Father! Are you okay!?" asked Ash  
"Ash... run..." was the last words that Ash's father said before he died. A few seconds later, soldiers, countless soldiers came from the woods and started slaughtering the villagers, and at the same time, they burned the wooden houses. Cain and Ash just watched in horror as they saw the villagers being slaughtered without retaliating. But what startled Ash is that his best friend, Gary, was with them  
"Humans... I hate every single one of them...!" Cain whispered to himself but was loud enough for Ash to hear. They just stared silently at the soldiers until their mother started pulling them away from the area. But unfortunately, their mother got hit by a poisoned arrow at her back.  
"Run...! You need to get away from here!" Ash's mother said while lying on the ground. Ash wanted to carry her mother away, but when he saw the approaching soldiers, he started running away with his brother  
_

_Ash and Cain started running aimlessly at the woods, all they wanted to do was to get away from the soldiers that were chasing them. But the thought that Gary, Ash's best friend, ditched them, was ringing inside Ash's mind. A few moments later, Cain tripped and starting rolling down before falling from a cliff  
"Aaaahhh!" screamed Cain while falling  
"CAIIIN!" yelled Ash as he saw his brother falling to his death_

Ash suddenly woke up while breathing heavily. He looked at the clock and saw that it was still 3:00 am. Ash just buried his face under his pillow before falling asleep (again).

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**So that's it, I hope you liked it and please review.  
(Please help me become a great writer in the future :D)  
Also, the action will start in the second chapter.  
Please don't forget to review.  
**


	2. Chapter 2: The Invasion

**So, this is the second chapter and I want to inform you that the invasion will be at the end of the chapter XD  
I also want to thank the guys that reviewed my fanfic.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

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**Chapter 2: The Invasion**

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It was 11:00 AM, and Ash is busy 'teaching' the royal guards some tactics he learned over the years; and of course, May (with the kitten on her shoulder) was watching Ash as he taught the royal guards some formations. May was wearing the clothes that she bought the other day (her Hoenn Clothes), and May gave the little kitten some clothes, a cute ribbon on its neck, a pink sweater, and a white miniskirt, but the kitten doesn't seem to be comfortable with some clothes on . May invited Ash to eat lunch in town; Ash hesitated at first but was pulled by May into a restaurant that sells ramen. What they didn't notice is that someone was spying on them.

The both of them bought 5 bowls of ramen, and they just ignored the mumbles of other people. Ash removed his bandanna that covers his forehead, revealing an upside down star on his forehead (Satanism symbol).  
"Hey Ash, what's that on your forehead?" Asked May curiously  
"It's something that you'd better not know" said Ash coldly as he wore the bandanna again.  
"Hey, let's see who could eat faster, the loser will pay the bill, deal?"said May, trying to make Ash smile.  
"Deal!" Ash smiled and after a few seconds, they started eating faster than a slave that hasn't eaten for days. The other customers jaw-dropped at the sight of Ash and May eating, then after a minute, the match ended with a tie.  
"A tie, huh?" said Ash, staring at May's sapphire-colored eyes  
"There could only be one victor." Said May, also staring at Ash's eyes  
"TEN MORE BOWLS PLEASE!" Ash and May shouted at the waiter simultaneously, the waiter swear-dropped and tried to put on a fake smile.  
"Y-yes Ma'am and Sir." And with that, the waiter disappeared to bring more bowls of ramen. The kitten that was sleeping on the table suddenly woke up and started licking one of May's bowl, and eventually, May's face.  
"I'm sorry little guy, I'll buy you some snacks later." Said May as she tried to put the kitten on the table and away from her face  
"Seriously May, do you really need to dress your cat like that?" said Ash he took a biscuit from his fanny pack and fed it to the kitten  
"Why not? Is he not the cutest little thing that you have ever seen?" Said May as she stroked the kitten's fur  
"Yeah…" said Ash sarcastically, rolling his eyes "What's his name?"  
"Max, nice name huh?" said May, smiling at Ash.

"Here you go Ma'am and Sir." Said the waiter while carrying 2 trays of ramen.  
Ash and May once again started to eat, it was a tight battle, neither of them wanted to lose, and the customers just stared at them with amazement. After a few more minutes, Ash was declared as the winner, he clenched his fists in the air and the other customers applauded  
"So May, looks like you would be paying the bill." Ash grinned and noticed that May was smiling sheepishly.  
"Actually Ash, I don't have any money…"

"WHAAAT!? You expect me to pay all that!?" exclaimed Ash, causing some of the customers to leave the restaurant  
"I'm sorry Ash, it's just I forgot to brought some money" said May who staring at the ground because of guilt.  
"Great." Said Ash sarcastically "You forgot to bring money and now you want me to pay."  
Ash took his wallet and paid the bill, then he left May alone in the restaurant. May took Max that was at the table and went after Ash

"Ash, Ash?" May tried to get Ash's attention, but Ash just ignored her and walked faster. May clutched his arm and tried to slow him down  
"Hey Ash, I'm sorry okay? I'll try to pay you later. Could you just please take me back to the castle?"  
"Why won't you just go back on your own?" said Ash coldly  
"But I'm afraid to go back alone."  
"Then it's not my problem" said Ash as broke free from May's grasp walked towards the crowd. May noticed that her shoelaces were not tied; she crouched and tied her shoelaces, but by the time that she stood up, she couldn't find Ash anywhere.

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_Meanwhile at the Castle_

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"Your Majesty, I saw princess May with the 'Devil' outside the castle" said the spy while kneeling in front of King Norman and Queen Caroline  
"Norman, are you sure about this?" asked Queen Caroline with a worried tone  
"Ash seemed to be a nice boy, I'm sure he'll protect our daughter." Said King Norman "Where are they right now?"  
"Last time I saw them, May pulled Ash into a restaurant" said the Spy "May seemed to like Ash, and she enjoys being with him, maybe you could-"  
"I'm not asking for your opinion!" Norman roared with anger  
"I'm sorry your Majesty…"  
"Well then, keep an eye out for them"  
"Yes Your Majesty" and with that, the spy left to spy Ash and May (Again)

"Norman, I'm starting to get worried because of that boy" said Caroline  
"It seems that May is starting to like Ash, but don't worry, once that boy do bad things to our daughter, I'll kill him with my bare hands" said Norman as he placed his hands on Caroline's shoulders  
"But that won't change the fact that he did bad things to our daughter!" exclaimed Caroline  
"What do you want me to do?" said Norman as he turned his back to Caroline  
"You could create another deal with him, just don't reward him with our daughter"  
"Okay, I'll try to think of another deal"  
"Ash is a dangerous boy, do you still remember why Queen Johanna wanted to destroy Pallet Town along with the villagers there?"  
"It's because the villagers are _demons" _said Norman as he closed his eyes "Long ago, the demons are monsters that could transform into human form, and they caused great destruction. But the draconians, humanoid dragons, wanted to end the demons' rampage, so they started a war against the demons. The war lasted for many years, but after 10 years of war, both sides decided to make peace treaty, the demons promised that they wouldn't harm anyone anymore and that they will create a village and live peacefully. During the war, both sides' population greatly decreased, and that's the reason why the demons decided to make a peace treaty and started living peacefully. But Queen Johanna and King Palmer believed that the day will come that the demons would start a war again in the future, so they decided to seek Pallet town and destroy it along with the demons…."  
"But Ash survived and swore to Arceus that one day he will have his revenge" Queen Caroline continued  
"But that doesn't change the fact that Ash wouldn't do such things to our daughter"  
"And what makes you say that?"  
"…the spy?"  
"Still! I want you to make sure that our daughter won't get harmed!"  
"Okay, okay" Norman sighed, the only one in this world that he's afraid of, is his wife.

May was walking down the streets while talking to Max  
"Hey Max, what do you think should I do so that Ash would forgive me?" said May to the kitten on her shoulder  
"Meow!" Max pointed at a BBQ stand.  
"But I don't have any money" said May with a lonely voice. She then saw a man wearing a cloak handing her 100 pokedollars  
"Who are you mister?" asked May curiously  
"Let's just say that I was sent by the king to guard you" said the stranger as he handed the money to May, and whispered something to May "Use this to buy Ash something, you really like him huh?" May blushed because of his statement  
"I don't like him, it's just he's mad at me right now" said May while trying to hide her blush, the stranger chuckled at what May said  
"I'll watch over you from a distance, right now I'm hungry" said the stranger as he rubbed his stomach and walked away from May. May smiled and walked towards the BBQ stand. May bought 2 grilled Bacon, one for Ash and another one for Max and her. Ash's grilled bacon was inside a paper bag, and May placed it on her fanny pack

As they were walking (while eating) on the uncrowded part of town, 3 tall, muscular strangers surrounded May  
"Heh, what a pretty girl" said the first one while grinning evilly  
"Uh, thank you?" said May as she tried to get past them  
"But do you know what happens to pretty girls" said the second one as he took a step closer to May. May was starting to get scared and was about to scream but the third one taped her mouth  
"Do you even think we would let you attract attention" said the third one as he and the second one grabbed her arms, and the first one was touching May's face seductively, but Max scratched the stranger's hand  
"Why you little…!" said the first one as he threw Max away from May's shoulder.

The stranger that May met earlier was about to save her but stopped when he saw Ash charging towards the strangers that surrounded May, Ash punched one of them so hard, the stranger flew towards the wall, leaving a crack at the wall and knocking the stranger out (not to mention the metal gauntlet made the punch more painful). The second one tried to punch Ash in the face but Ash grabbed his arm and started twisting it, causing the stranger to scream in pain. While the last one tried to run away but Ash took a blunt stone and threw it to the stranger, directly hitting the back of his head and knocking him out.

Ash took Max gently and placed it on his head, and then he removed the tape on May's mouth and grabbed May's hand and started walking.  
"Ash! Where are you taking me?" exclaimed May, surprised at Ash's sudden movements  
"Back to the castle, duh!" said Ash not even looking at May. May hugged Ash's arm tightly  
"Thank you for saving me Ash" said May softly "I'm sorry Ash about what happened earlier, I promise I will pay you later, right now I've got something to give you" May released Ash's arm and took a paper bag from her fanny pack. Ash raised a brow  
"What's that?" asked Ash but he immediately identified it by smelling it "Bacon?!"  
"Why, do you love bacon?" teased May while smiling at Ash  
"N-no! It's just…" Ash turned towards the knocked out stranger at his left, but he couldn't help but drool at the smell of bacon  
May took the bacon from the paper bag which caused Ash to gaze at the bacon. May was about to take a small bite from the bacon but Ash jaw-dropped as if saying 'Nooo! Please don't!' May let out a chuckle and gave Ash the bacon  
"Here you go Ash!"  
"T-thank you May" said Ash. Ash was about to take a bite at the bacon but he noticed May staring at the bacon, Ash smiled and split the bacon into two, he gave the half to May  
"Thank you Ash" said May as she ate the bacon  
"No, _thank you_ May" said Ash as he noticed Max trying to reach for the bacon, Ash took a small piece and gave it to Max.

Ash and May started walking towards the castle after they finished eating, but neither of them started a conversation. After a few minutes, May finally broke the awkward silence  
"Hey Ash, could you please tell me why you are unnaturally strong?"  
"It's something-"Ash was about to answer but May placed one finger on his lip  
"Let me guess, 'It's something that you'd better not know.'" May tried her best to imitate Ash's voice, but failed  
"You're horrible at imitating"  
"Oh really? I could imitate Max"  
"Heh, shoot."  
"Meow!"  
"Ok fine, I take back what I have just said."  
"Told ya!" May hugged Ash's arm and leaned on his shoulder. Both of them were walking towards the gate and were surprised to see the old guards gone. What they saw were two new tall and muscular guards (wearing knight's armor), unlike the old guards, these two new guards are focusing on their job; they could just stand there all day  
"Ash Ketchum! The King wants to see you at the throne room" said the first one  
"How did you know-"Ash didn't finish his question when the second guard handed him a picture of him. May just smiled at the two guards  
"Good day to you sir!"  
"Good day to you too, princess!" said the two guards simultaneously.

May went to the castle with Max on her shoulders while Ash decided to go home after having a small talk with the king. By the time Ash arrived at his home, he immediately went to the bedroom, taken off his armor, taken off his red head band, wore his sleeping garments, jumped into the bed, and fell asleep within seconds.

Ash woke up after 3 hours of sleep, but the reason he woke up is because of the sound of the bells coming from the bell tower, which means that the kingdom is under attack. Ash immediately wore his armor, his head band, strapped his great sword on his back and immediately went to the castle. He saw the royal guards readying, after a few minutes of readying, the royal guards marched towards the castle walls. The squad that Ash leads consists of 15 pike men, 20 legionaries (men wielding swords and kite shields with a spear strapped on their back), 20 Elite Defenders (Men wielding Gigantic shields, shields that are bigger than them) and 25 castle archers. Ash's squad is small compared to the opposing army which consists of 30 cavalrymen, 40 archers and 35 swordsmen. Ash's squad stood outside the castle walls, a few kilometers away from the opposing army. Ash turned towards one of the archers and nodded, the archer sent an arrow towards one of the enemy cavalryman, effectively killing the horseman. After Ash took the initiative, the opposing army started charging towards them, the cavalry on front, the swordsmen followed, and the archers readying their arrows  
"Everybody, defensive formation A!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs so that all of the soldiers could hear him. The royal guards followed what Ash said and positioned themselves, the pike men on front, and the others on their back, while the archers on the castle walls readied their arrows, waiting for Ash's orders. Their plan was successful, some of the cavalrymen continued charging while the others stopped, and the cavalrymen that continued charging were easily killed by the long pikes of the pike men. The enemy cavalrymen's number decreased to 20. The enemy archers released a rain of arrows, but Ash commanded the royal guards just in time.  
"Defensive Formation B 'Shield Wall'!" The royal guards followed; the legionaries and the pike men crouched while the defenders raised their shields creating a wall of shields.  
"'Rain of arrows!'" Ash commanded the castle archers, and they followed, they released their arrows into the air, killing some of the horsemen and the swordsmen. The numbers of the horsemen decreased to 15, while the swordsmen to 27.  
"Retaliation Formation, now!" The soldiers once again followed Ash's orders, this time they were charging (including Ash, but he's using an ordinary sword instead of his great sword) Ash in the middle-front, alongside the Defenders and the Pike men, while the legionaries are at the back, they formed a Pyramid like formation. The Defenders kept on charging while bashing the swordsmen on their front, they will only stop charging when a horseman was charging towards them, they would take a step back and let the pike men do the dirty job. The enemy army was almost wiped out, the only ones left were the archers, they tried shooting arrows while stepping back but the defenders would just block the attack  
"For Queen Johanna!" one of the archers cried trying to inspire the others not to give up  
"Retaliation Formation B!" shouted Ash towards the others. The defenders and the pike men side-stepped and made way for the legionaries, the legionaries threw their javelins towards the archers, killing most of them; they then unsheathed their swords and sprinted towards the remaining archers, killing the rest. (Note: I know less about the legionaries, but in this story, they are elite soldiers with enhanced speed, agility, and senses)

After they killed the last one, one of the legionaries cried while they are marching towards the castle walls  
"Long live Ash Ketchum!" one of the legionaries exclaimed  
"Long live Ash Ketchum!" the other soldiers replied  
"Long live King Norman!  
"Long live the King!"

King Norman just watched in amazement, 'He only used a few men, and the opposing army was bigger than his, but he managed to defeat them all without suffering any casualties!?' Norman thought to himself, still not believing what just happened.

Little did Ash know, is that a cloaked stranger witnessed everything from a small hill and smirked  
"You've grown stronger, Ash; and it's exactly what we need to get revenge. Not now, but on the right time" The stranger said and started walking away from the area.  
He removed his hood, revealing a young man with blond hair, and is about a year older than Ash. He also had an upside down star symbol on his forehead, much like Ash.

* * *

**So, that's it, please review and if you liked it...**

**SPREAD IT!**  
**(Please help me become a better writer ;D)**


	3. Chapter 3: The Day before the End

**So uh, this is the third chapter and I'll inform you guys that this would be the day before the downfall of Petalburg Kingdom  
(Spoilers! Spoilers everywhere! :D)**

**Anyway, I want to thank the guys who reviewed this fic, you guys really inspire me to keep on writing.  
So, I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Final Happy Days of Petalburg**

* * *

_Somewhere in Twinleaf Kingdom_

At a forest at the southern side of Twinleaf Kingdom, 10 soldiers were sent to deliver some supplies to an allied Kingdom  
"There are no wild animals in sight, I guess this delivery wouldn't be dangerous at all" One of the soldiers said while holding a map  
"But we must be cautious, bandits could also be a threat to us" said the one who is riding the horse  
"Let's rest for now, we've been walking for 4 hours straight, I'm really tired" Another one of the soldiers said. The soldiers decided to make a camp, but little did they know was that a cloaked figure was watching them.

A few minutes later, a shadow ball came out of nowhere and flew towards them, causing an explosion which killed 3 of the soldiers. By the time the cloud of dust that the explosion caused faded, the remaining soldiers readied their weapons and stood in a defensive formation.  
"What was that!? Bandits!?" asked one of the soldiers while shaking uncontrollably. Two more shadow balls came from above them and killed 4 of them. Two of the remaining soldiers tried to run away but was shot by another one. When the remaining soldier looked what's above him, he saw a half-naked man with a pair of black wings and dark red eyes; he had blond hair and a huge scar on his chest. The mysterious man descended slowly in front of the soldier and the soldier just stared at him as he descended  
"Please spare me! I'll do anything you want, just don't kill me! I still have a family; I've got 5 children, 3 of them-"  
"I don't care about your family! If you won't stop I'll silence you myself!" The man yelled with an irritated voice "Now, I'm not planning to kill you, I want you to go back to your Arceus-damned Kingdom and send your queen a message, 'My name is Cain Ketchum, the brother of Ash, and I will kill you all'!"  
The soldier stood up and saluted at Cain nervously before sprinting back to the kingdom

* * *

_A few hours later, at the Twinleaf Castle_

* * *

In the throne room of Twinleaf Castle, Queen Johanna was sitting on her throne while thinking of something. She just sat there in silence while planning her next moves. But prince Barry came inside, snapping the queen out of her thoughts  
"Mother, our scouts report that the attack last night failed, 'The Devil' assisted the royal guards of Petalburg" said prince Barry  
"I see…" said the queen as she let out a chuckle "Don't worry, we shall deploy the main attack tomorrow midnight, Petalburg Kingdom shall fall!"  
The queen then let out an evil laugh; so did Barry and the servants.  
"Be ready Barry, you're going to lead the army, don't fail me now" said Queen Johanna; Barry then stood, preparing to leave.

But a man wearing an armor the knights also wear came in. The man had spiky red hair, and wields a double bladed spear  
"Want do you want me to do, Your Majesty?" said the man as he kneeled in front of the queen  
"Oh yes, Gary, I want you to go visit and ask for help from the Draconians" commanded Queen Johanna  
"What do you want me to tell them?" Gary asked with a rude voice  
"A Demon threatens our kingdom"  
"Your wish is my command, Your Majesty" said Gary as he stood up and left the throne room.

"Mother, are you sure the Draconians would help us?" asked Prince Barry with a worried tone  
"Of course, the Demons caused great destruction once, and the Draconians won't let it happen again."  
"But, the Demons made a peace treaty long ago, what do you think would happen if they discover that we are the ones that started this?"  
"Then we would be in great trouble…" said a mysterious old man that entered throne room. The man was wearing a robe that warlocks use. He was also wielding a staff that entangles a glowing green orb.  
"Who are you? Based on your appearance, you're a warlock, right?" asked Barry with a frightened voice  
"Ah, what do you want, Gengar?" asked Queen Johanna with a smile on her face  
"I've got bad news for you, Johanna; first: Ash Ketchum would be a huge threat to our plans; second: Ash's brother, Cain, also survived, and is now maximizing the extent of his power, to get revenge" Gengar stated  
"So you mean there are two demons that threaten our plans?" asked Johanna with an unfazed expression  
"Mother, won't you mind me asking, but could you please tell me what is the real reason on why you destroyed Pallet town, and what **_are_** your plans?"  
Johanna was about to answer Barry's question, but Gengar did it for her, "Okay, first things first; our plan was to revive the most powerful sorcerer that ever lived, Alexander; but I've seen the future, that once we revive Alexander, the Demons and the Draconians would join forces and kill Alexander once again, so we decided that we should destroy Pallet town, and fortunately, the Draconians haven't heard about this"  
"And to revive Alexander, we need to use the four elemental spheres" Johanna filled in the missing details "Right now we got the fire and water sphere, the earth sphere was hidden by Norman somewhere in Petalburg"  
"Wait Gengar, what do you mean you've seen the future?" asked Barry, ignoring what her mother just said  
"I'm more powerful than you think, young prince. I've used a powerful spell to see the future, to know if our plan would work, but it drained my power; now look at me, I feel weak and old"  
"But don't worry, I'm sure that Alexander will give us **everything** that we want" encouraged Queen Johanna. The three then started laughing evilly (again). Little did they know is that princess Dawn is watching them and is against their plans.

* * *

_Meanwhile in Petalburg Kingdom_

* * *

It was once again a peaceful day in Petalburg, people are celebrating because the attack last night was repelled, and the villagers are no longer afraid of Ash. It was sure a great day to rest, but…  
"Hey Ash! There's a party in the castle, and you're the only one missing!" yelled Brendan as he knocked at the door more vicious than a man being chased by zombies.  
Brendan is one of the royal guards; he's the fastest and strongest among the legionaries. Brendan was wearing a tuxedo and is excited for the party. But what surprised Brendan was that a grandfather clock flew from the window upstairs and landed a few meters away from him at his right side. Brendan was shocked because of this, 'I never thought he's this strong', Brendan thought.  
"Shut up! Can't you see I'm sleeping here; it's still early in the morning!" exclaimed Ash through the broken window  
"First of all, I can't see you; second, it's already 6 pm, you've been sleeping all **day!**" Yelled Brendan. Ash then threw a wall clock towards the window, directly hitting Brendan on the head  
"Stupid wall clock! No one dares to lie to me!" exclaimed Ash to no one in particular. Ash's head then popped out from the window, Brendan noticed Ash's squinty eyes, indicating that he's still tired and sleepy.  
"What do you want?" asked Ash  
"You're the one who's going to dance with the princess, you're the hero and they're celebrating because of our victory!" said Brendan excitedly  
"Tell them I don't care," said Ash as he came back inside. Brendan sighed  
"Well, looks like the princess will be dancing with that rich and famous Drew guy" teased Brendan. After a few seconds, Brendan was about to leave but the door opened with a loud slam. He saw Ash ready, his face is clean, he's already wearing a tuxedo, and….. He's still wearing the red bandanna.

As they were walking in the streets of Petalburg, they received smiles and praises. A boy then approached Ash nervously. The boy had blond hair, and is about 8 years old.  
"I-I want to g-give you something sir." Said the boy nervously as he gave Ash a dog tag. The words that are written on the dog tag were 'Ash Ketchum' and 'Hero'. Ash gave the little boy a smile  
"What's your name?" said Ash with a kind voice as he crouched down in front of the boy  
"U-um, Arthur, sir" replied Arthur  
"Thank you Arthur for the gift you gave me, I really appreciated it" said Ash as he patted the boy's head and wore the dog tag "So Arthur, what do you want to be when you grow up?"  
"I want to become a hero, just like you sir!" said Arthur happily as he gave Ash a smile  
"Please, call me Ash" said Ash as he gave the boy a warm smile "And also, good luck on your dream"  
"Thank you, Ash!" said Arthur; the villagers nearby then smiled at Ash because of his kindness.

Ash and Brendan then continued walking, there was a peaceful silence between the two, but after a few minutes, Brendan tried to tease Ash  
"I never thought that Ash Ketchum, 'The Devil', also had a bright and kind side. So that's why princess May liked you." Teased Brendan  
"Shut up!"  
"And when I said that if you won't come, princess May would dance with that Drew guy; as fast as lightning you came out of the door already dressed up"  
"First of all, do you want me to knock you out? Second, I don't like that Drew guy"  
"Why? Is it the fact that he's more of a gentleman than you?"  
Ash let out a chuckle "I know that I could a better man than him if I want to, and I know that May would choose me over him"  
"So you address the princess simply as May, Interesting" said Brendan as he stroked his chin  
"Are you going to stop teasing me or not?" said Ash with a cold and threatening tone as he glared Brendan  
"O-okay, I'll stop" Brendan was frightened at what Ash just said, so he kept his mouth shut. But he felt the urge to ask something that he didn't understand

"Hey Ash, won't you mind me asking, but why are you so kind to that boy?" Brendan asked curiously. Ash just let out a sigh  
"That boy reminds me of my brother, Cain. They looked the same, and is like my brother. My brother also wanted to be stronger, to protect me and my family, to become famous and feared by many, to become a hero..." replied Ash with a sad voice  
"What happened to your brother?" Brendan asked, he was curious about Ash's past, he wanted to know more. But, Ash didn't respond, instead, he continued walking. Brendan then decided not to ask him anymore questions.

* * *

_Later that day, at the Castle_

* * *

The party was celebrated at the castle's ball room. The room was extremely huge, there were tables for everyone, and there's a large chandelier at the ceiling of the room. There were some guests; the few selected royal guards (Note: The king's favorite guards), the richest men in the Petalburg Kingdom (including Drew) and the King and Queen's relatives.  
May was wearing a sapphire colored gown, with white long gloves. May was on the same table as Ash and was eating like a normal lady; though she tried her best not to embarrass herself in front of other people; Ash also did the same.

The king also hired someone to 'entertain' the guests  
"Hello everybody! My name is Harley the Harlequin, and I'm here to entertain everyone in here!" said Harley with a joyful voice. He entertained the guests very well, he made all of them laugh, including May and Ash. But after minutes of entertaining, it was already time for the dance  
"Everyone! It's time for the dance!" said King Norman as he tried to get everyone's attention. The harlequin then waved goodbye to the guests and faded. After King Norman's announcement, Ash immediately stood, and offered May a hand  
"Could you please dance with me?"  
"Of course, I would love to dance with you" said May as she picked Ash's hand and stood. Both of them went towards the middle of the dance floor; Ash clasped May's left hand with his right hand, and placed his left hand on her waist, while May placed her right hand on Ash's shoulder, then the two started dancing with the music. The gentlemen also danced gracefully with the ladies.  
"Hey Ash, thank you again for saving me yesterday, and sorry for not telling you the truth, that I haven't brought some money." Said May sheepishly  
"I've already forgiven you, but I'm sorry also for shouting at you and leaving you alone yesterday" said Ash as he looked away from May "if I haven't left you alone, you won't get in trouble"  
Ash suddenly realized something, 'Wait! If she hasn't brought some money, then how come she managed to bought the bacon yesterday?'  
"Hey May, you said you haven't brought some money right?" asked Ash; May just nodded in agreement "Then when did you get the money to buy the bacon?"  
"Oh that? Father sent someone to look after me"  
"So you mean your father still don't trust me"  
"Yeah, in fact he's been watching us the whole time" said May with a smile as if she doesn't mind her father watching her the whole time "Anyway Ash, what did you mean by what you have just said earlier, that father still don't trust you?"  
Ash's face then became brightly red "N-no, I mean-"  
Ash didn't finish his answer when May kissed him on the lips  
"But I trust you Ash, so keep me away from harm, 'kay?" asked May as she placed her head on Ash's chest.  
"Okay, I promise" replied Ash  
Everyone then started to stare at Ash and May, some were happy for them, while the others were surprised. The queen was about to protest about their 'relationship', but was stopped by Norman  
"Don't Caroline, our daughter is happy right now, maybe we could just let them be"  
The queen just gave a sigh of defeat and followed what her husband just said.  
After the dance, everyone drank some wine. Ash raised his wine glass and cheered  
"For the Petalburg Kingdom!"  
"Hear, hear!" cheered everyone.  
After a few minutes; Brendan yelled in front of everyone  
"For Ash Ketchum and princess May Maple!" cheered Brendan who's already drunk.  
All the other guests also cheered, but Ash walked towards him and whispered something  
"I'll have your head after this" whispered Ash coldly which caused Brendan to tremble in fear.

After a few more minutes of partying, talking, and drinking, the guests started to go home one after another. By the time all of the guests have left, May noticed Ash sleeping on one of the tables, drunk. May decided to carry Ash towards her room, but it took like forever for May just to carry Ash on her shoulders towards her room. The King and Queen are already asleep in their own rooms, and so as the servants. After hours of carrying, May finally reached her room and placed Ash on her bed. May was exhausted as she laid herself on her bed, and then drifted to sleep after a few seconds.

_The Next Day_

It was once again a peaceful day in Petalburg Castle (Author's note: I really loved this line XD), the servants were doing the work that they were assigned to; the guards were guarding the castle; and the King is busy daydreaming. It was sure a peaceful day until…

"AAAAAAH!" screamed Queen Caroline as she saw May and Ash sleeping on one bed, but what startled her was that Ash's arms were wrapped around May, and May's head was placed on Ash's chest. The scream of Queen Caroline was so loud that the King, the guards and some of the servants rushed towards where the noise came from. Ash and May woke because of the noise, and blushed deeply red when they realized their position on May's bed  
"What, what happened?" asked King Norman with a worried voice, but what was also startled when he saw Ash and May on bed "Why you little piece of #^&!, taking advantage of my daughter!? I'll have your head for this!"  
Ash then shifted into sitting position, and so as May "Look, I can explain everyth-"Ash tried to explain but stopped when King Norman grabbed a sword out of nowhere and pointed it on Ash's neck  
"I've got no time for your stupid explanations! Now brace yourself, because this is going to hurt!"  
Norman was about to kill Ash but May stood up and grabbed her father's arm "Please don't father! I'll explain everything, please!" May then did her puppy dog eyes.  
Norman just gave a sigh of defeat when he saw her daughter's puppy dog eyes; he dropped his sword and said with a calm voice "Okay, explain everything"

May then explained everything, from Ash getting drunk, to carrying him to her room, and to falling asleep because of being tired  
"Okay, I understand everything now" said Norman "I understand that this is your fault!" Norman then raised his sword and pointed it to Ash "If you didn't get drunk and fell asleep, my daughter won't have to carry you to her room!"  
The King was about to swing his sword, but stopped when he saw May wrapped her hands around Ash's neck "Father, please don't hurt him!"  
Norman just gave a sigh of defeat "Okay, I'll let this pass, but if you do this a-"  
Norman didn't finish because her daughter suddenly hugged him tightly  
"Thank you father!"

* * *

_Later that day_

* * *

After what happened earlier, Ash decided to go back to his home and take a bath. After taking a bath, Ash wore his usual clothing (The knights' armor and the torn cape covering his upper body) and looked at the mirror  
"I feel comfortable while wearing this" said Ash to himself as he made some poses in front of the mirror "It makes me feel safe"  
After a few minutes of doing nothing, Ash heard someone knock at the door, 'This better not be Brendan', Ash thought, 'I'm so gonna kill him'

* * *

_*Flashback*_

* * *

_Ash was drinking some whine peacefully on one of the tables. He felt comfortable being alone, it gives him time to think, to remember the good memories of his past, and at the same time, the horrible ones. A memory of his family, and his friends then came to his mind, and without him noticing, a tear came down from his eye, and rolled on his cheek. Only if he could be given 3 wishes, his wishes would be:  
1. To go back in time and save his family and his friends  
2. To be with his family again  
3. To have the ability to become invisible whenever he wanted to.  
_

_A few minutes later, Brendan came and sat on a chair beside Ash while carrying bottles of wine  
"You don't seem to be happy; drink this, and all your problems would fade away..." Brendan said with a drunken tone as he handed Ash a bottle of wine. Ash took the wine and started drinking. After drinking a few more bottles, Ash fell asleep on the table, and Brendan decided to go home._

* * *

_*End of Flashback*_

* * *

Ash walked downstairs and opened the door, but what surprised him was that May was standing in front of him, smiling  
"Hi Ash!" said May happily

* * *

**And that's it!  
I hope you liked it and please review.**

**Also, I'm starting to ran out of ideas, and i don't know how to end this fic.  
So, maybe you guys could send me some suggestions.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Downfall of Petalburg

***Sigh* I haven't received the reviews that I wanted/needed.  
Nah, this story is still far from conclusion anyway.**

**So, uh, I want to say sorry to you guys because it's been a long time since I've last updated this fic, I hope that you'll be able to forgive me.**

**Also, there is something I should've done before but have forgotten to. I wanted to thank the guys who followed, favorited, and reviewed my fic, you guys are my inspiration to continue writing, so thank you very much! :D  
Special thanks to: WhiteEagle1985, CHaoticDue, aloasa, AuroraWinters and to two unnamed guests for reviewing my fic  
And finally, thank you to The Shiny Gengar, for helping me in every way you could.**

**So, enough with the Author's note;  
READ AND ****_PLEASE_**** REVIEW**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Downfall of Petalburg**

* * *

"Hi Ash" said May happily as Ash opened the door  
"What brings you here?" Ash asked  
"I just wanted to visit you, that's all"  
"But, what about your father? I'm sure he won't allow you to leave castle" said Ash as he raised a brow  
"Actually…" May grinned sheepishly "Father sent 3 guys to watch over me, there are two over there" May pointed towards a bush at her left, and the bush started rustling by the time May pointed towards it "And a legionary named Brendan over there" May pointed towards the branches of a tree at her right.

Ash was startled when he heard the name Brendan, he took a stone from the ground and threw it towards the tree, and fortunately for Ash, it directly hit the camouflaged Brendan and caused to him to fall towards the solid ground back-first  
"I'll get you one day Ash Ketchum!" exclaimed Brendan as he groaned in pain

"So, uh, are you busy today?" asked May with an innocent tone  
"Yes." Ash said before he closed the door with great force, leaving a surprised May standing like an idiot in front of the closed door. By the time May had processed the previous events into her mind, she let out a sigh, not a sigh of defeat, but a sigh of disappointment  
"Ash, I want to go around the town today, but, I'm afraid to go there alone" May said with a weak voice. Ash then opened the door and let out a sigh  
"Fine, let's go" Ash then closed the door behind him and grabbed May's hand, surprising May, but May immediately regained her composure and hugged Ash's arm while leaning on his shoulder as they walked on the streets.

While they were walking, an old woman (you could imagine what she looks like) clasped her hands and said "Ah, young love…"  
Ash was irritated at what the woman said but decided to ignore it and continued walking. A young man (about as old as Ash) then saw them walking and wolf whistled "What brings you here, beautiful lady? Could you please tell me your name?"  
"You want me to make you wish you were never born?" asked Ash with a threatening tone  
"Hey, I'm just joking" said the boy with a smirk and then walked away  
"Ash" said May while crossing her arms. Ash just let out a sigh.

Ash and May then continued walking, this time May was beside Ash (instead of hugging his arm); they walked past a man playing a harp. By the time they walked past the man, the man sang a song about young love with a beautiful voice; the man was revealed to be Harley. Ash was starting to lose his temper, he clenched his fist but May grabbed his hand and loosened it.  
"Ash, control your anger" said May while holding Ash's hand. Ash didn't respond, instead he turned towards Harley and walked towards him  
"Could you please stop singing that song" said Ash with a stern look on his face  
"I think I've seen you before…. you're the princess' fiancé!" said Harley with joyful voice "But who's this girl?"  
Harley gasped when he thought that Ash was cheating on May "You're cheating on the princess?! The King won't be happy because of this!"  
"Calm down. First of all: she's not my fiancée, second: I'm not in a relationship, third: this girl in front of you is actually-"Ash tried to explain but stopped when May covered his mouth. May went over to Harley and whispered something

"Okay, I get it now" said Harley with a singsong tone while playing the harp  
"You know Harley, you're pretty good at playing that thing" May said while clasping her hands  
"Oh, my father taught me how to play one while I was a kid"  
"Oh I wish that someone could play me a harp all the time"

While May and Harley kept on talking, Ash sat on a bench while crossing his arms as he watched the two. Ash felt as if he's invisible, but he just listened to their conversation until he thought of something, 'Maybe if I could learn how to play a harp... maybe May would be happy at me. It's the least that I could do…'

**. . .**

"Ash, let's go now" May said, causing Ash to snap out of his thoughts  
"Okay, let's go" Ash said before grabbing her hand gently and started walking  
"Hey Ash, won't you mind me asking, but why are you uncomfortable whenever we're together?"  
"It's just… it just feel awkward, to be stared at by other people. Seriously though, why won't they just mind their own business? And what does love truly mean…?" Ash said, he suddenly lost control of his mind and his mouth, but when he realized what he just said, he covered his mouth  
"Wait, what? You don't know what love means? And you're not feeling anything while we're together?" asked May with a weak voice  
"Actually, the truth is… whenever I'm around you, I have this weird feeling, I can't explain it, but it somehow makes me-" Ash tried to explain but immediately stopped when he heard a burst of laughter from the bushes. As fast as lightning, Ash went towards the bushes to know who was watching them; he saw Brendan, along with two other men (you can imagine what they looked like), rolling on the floor, trying to hold their laughter  
"Hahaha! Ash doesn't know what love means, what a total idiot!" Brendan said while rolling on the floor, laughing. The other spies also laughed, but when they noticed Ash glaring at them, they immediately stopped and felt chills down their spines  
"Run..?" Brendan gulped, expecting for the worst. Brendan and the two spies stood up at blinding speed and started running away from Ash  
"I'm going to kill you Brendan, and this time, I'll show no mercy!" Ash said before breaking into a run. May let out a sigh before running to catch up with Ash.

"It's your fault Brendan! If you didn't laugh first, he won't be chasing us like a maniac!" The first spy said  
"Yeah! Wait I have an idea!" The second one said before they stared at Brendan mischievously. The second one then placed his foot in front of Brendan, causing him to trip  
"Traitors!" Brendan said while lying on the ground, but he immediately stood when he saw Ash behind him. Brendan tried to run away but it was too late, **Ash pounced at Brendan and then…**

* * *

_Meanwhile in Twinleaf Kingdom_

* * *

At the quadrangle of the Twinleaf Castle, hundreds of soldiers were readying for the attack on Petalburg Kingdom, they started loading the catapults, readying their weapons and wearing their armor. Barry walked in front of the soldiers and announced "We shall deploy the main attack tonight, and if we succeed, we would be a step closer on reviving Alexander! Now get ready everyone, Petalburg shall fall!"  
The soldiers raised their weapons and cheered "For the Twinleaf Kingdom!"

Gengar came out of nowhere walked towards Barry and said "Excuse me young prince, but may I have a word with you"  
"What is it?"  
"Just remember that King Norman knows where the sphere is." Gengar turned his back on Barry "Make sure to keep him alive…" Gengar then walked back towards the shadows and faded.

* * *

_Back in Petalburg_

* * *

"Aaaugh…. my leg…!" Brendan groaned in pain as he lied on the solid ground with bruises on his face and the bones on his left and right foot were twisted; beside him was the two spies that backstabbed him "…Traitors…"  
"Uuugh…" The first one was also in the same state as Brendan, except Brendan's was worse  
"Ugh… dear Arceus… what have we ever done to you…?" The second one said with a weak voice, his whole body was numb because of the beating he received.

"Let's go May…" Ash said coldly  
"A-Ash! W-what happened to them?!" May stuttered while covering her mouth, not believing what she just saw  
"Trust me, you'd better not know"

* * *

_Later that day_

* * *

It was a peaceful, dark, starry night and all you could hear is the faint sound of a harp, and a young man's whining. Ash was sitting on his porch while trying to learn how to play a harp. Brendan and the others were sent to the hospital to treat their wounds, even the doctors couldn't believe how their body parts got twisted like that.

Ash was starting to lose his temper, he couldn't play the harp like Harley could, he wanted to throw away his harp but he felt the urge to keep trying "Arceus-damnit! I could never play this harp like Harley could; I paid good money for this crap! All I just wanted was to play this stupid thing to May to at least make her happy at me" Ash was about to throw the harp away but Harley came out of nowhere and said  
"And what are you doing at a night at this?"  
"I'm then one who's supposed to say that, what are you doing here?" asked Ash with a cold tone  
"Oh, it's just I couldn't sleep because of your whining! But anyway, tonight is your lucky night, because I'll teach you how to play a harp!" Harley said joyfully  
"No thanks, I think I'll just go to sleep now, bye."  
"But don't you want to make the princess happy?"  
Ash let out a sigh and allowed Harley to teach him how to play a harp. It was a very long night and the both of them lost track of time; Ash was excited for tomorrow, he's excited to see May's expression once he played the harp; but unfortunately for them, there would be no tomorrow for Petalburg Kingdom…

"(Yawn) I'm very tired, maybe I should go to sleep now" said Ash with squinty eyes. Harley also yawned, indicating that he's also sleepy  
"I'll go home now…." Harley agreed. But before Ash could go back inside, the bells of the bell tower started ringing  
"Not again…" Ash said before going back inside to pick up his great sword. After Ash grabbed his sword, he rushed towards the castle. He regrouped his new squad and went outside the Kingdom's walls. Ash's new squad consists of 50 elite knights; they are heavy armored soldiers that wield shields that could protect their whole body; they also wield long, sharp, shiny, deadly swords. Their incredible strength allows them to wield their huge shields with one hand, and their weapon with the other.

By the time they arrived at their destination, one the scouts reported "Sir Ash, I'm afraid you can't suppress the opposing army with your squad alone, we'll report to King Norman and ask for reinforcements"  
"Do what you must" Ash nodded

The opposing army consists of 40 archers, 70 swordsmen and 3 catapults. Before Ash could execute a command, the catapults started firing flaming rocks; two of them hit the walls, while the other hit a house inside the kingdom's walls. 'I need to put an end to this...!' Ash thought. Ash also noticed that the enemy soldiers are not charging, but are waiting for them to retaliate; Ash immediately noticed that something's wrong. The catapults once again fired, and Ash knew that nothing's going to happen if they would just stand there  
"Everyone, it's time to retaliate, we need to end this, now!" Ash commanded.  
The royal knights, including Ash, started charging at the enemies. The enemy archers released a barrage of arrows but the knights just blocked every single one of the arrows. The enemy swordsmen were no match against the well trained elite knights being led by Ash; the knights would just bash the enemy with their huge shields and use the opening to slash/stab them with their swords. But some of the knights were killed by the enemy archers. Ash on the other hand, would charge recklessly towards the enemy archers and use his large sword to kill them.

After the enemy was wiped out, Ash burned the wooden catapults. The 38 remaining elite knights started marching back to the Kingdom's walls. Ash thought that this was the end of the attack, but unfortunately for them, this was a part of the plan of the enemy. About 70 enemy horsemen came out of the woods on their east and west, along with 50 archers and 60 swordsmen; 5 catapults came from the hill at their north. Ash was surprised and is starting to lose hope, the squad that they fought before was only a bait, and now they're surrounded; the castle archers can't shoot the enemy because the enemy are out of their range. The catapults fired at the Kingdom's walls, killing some of the castle archers. The remaining elite knights are starting to panic, and Ash noticed this.

"Everyone, listen to me!" yelled Ash, trying to raise their remaining morale "There is still hope, reinforcements are coming, and right now we need to stay defensive! **Defensive formations, now!**"**  
**The soldiers followed and created a circle formation, attacking enemies that are within range and using their shields as walls to protect themselves. The enemy cavalry started running in a clockwise formation with the defensive knights at the middle of the circle; they tried to look for an opportunity to strike, but failed. The enemy archers then released a rain of arrows and caught the knights off guard; the enemy cavalry found an opening and started trampling the knights. Ash just watched in horror as he saw his squad being wiped out; he felt anger, extreme anger. He took off his upper clothing (excluding his gauntlets), revealing a large upside down star inside a circle at his back, and he also took off his bandanna, revealing the same symbol on his forehead. Wings, dark feathery wings sprouted from his back, and his eyes started glowing red.

Ash flew into the air and shoot lasers from his forehead into his enemies. The archers tried to shoot him, but Ash easily dodged the arrows while shooting dark red lasers. The ten, remaining knights started charging with reckless abandon. Even though they were badly injured, they still fought with honor. Ash glided near the ground while swinging his large sword, killing a large number of enemies. But more enemies were coming, and Prince Barry was riding a horse while trying to increase his army's morale. After a few more minutes, Brendan, who was riding a horse (due to what happened earlier) came, along with Ash's old squad and another squad sent by the king to reinforce Ash. Ash was shot by one of the archers and landed next to Brendan with a loud thud. Ash immediately stood, while breathing heavily; it's been a long time since Ash used his powers, and using them drains his energy. One of the legionaries, who was riding a horse offered his horse to Ash  
"Sir Ash, we need you to evacuate the King, the Queen, and princess May" The legionary said while readying his weapon; the other soldiers started charging at the enemy, they fought bravely, even though they were totally outnumbered.  
"He's right Ash; there are more horses at the stables at the castle. We'll try to hold them long enough for you to evacuate the royal family." Brendan agreed. Ash just nodded and rode the horse offered to him  
"Thank you Brendan, and please forgive me… Farewell, good friend" said Ash with a tear rolling down on his cheek. Brendan gave Ash one last smile before he left. After Ash left to save the royal family, Brendan charged at the opposing army, while yelling their battle cry "For the glory of Petalburg!"

On the other hand, Ash watched the destroyed houses, the slaughtered villagers, as he rode his horse towards the castle. While on his way, Ash immediately stopped when he noticed a familiar boy covered by rubble. Ash carried the boy (bridal style) and realized that he's already dead  
"This can't be real! Arthur, wake up! What about your dream!? You can never be a hero if you're already dead!" Ash yelled, he cried as he lifted the lifeless body; but after a few seconds, he laid the boy gently on the ground and rode his horse._'I swear, I'll have revenge. For my friends, my family, Brendan, and you...Arthur' _Ash thought as he continued riding towards the castle, trying to hold back his tears.

* * *

_Somewhere in the woods near Petalburg_

* * *

A young purple-haired man, about as old as Ash, was wandering in the woods near Petalburg, he was looking for a wild animal to hunt, but didn't found any. The man was wearing a ranger's outfit, he had a bow and a quiver strapped on his back, and a sword strapped on his belt. His name was Paul, a good friend of Ash, and a member of the Mercenaries' Guild. He was about to rest underneath a tree, but he saw a beautiful bluenette, and she seemed to be lost. The bluenette was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a white undershirt and a pink miniskirt. She was also wearing a white beanie on her head. And on her feet, pink boots with black socks underneath. Her name was Dawn, the daughter of Queen Johanna. _'It's dangerous for a defenseless lady to wander in a forest alone, I'd better look after her' _Paul thought. Paul decided to hide in the bushes and watch over her, just in case something bad would happen.

Dawn realized that she was lost, but she just sighed and said "No need to worry! I'll be out of this forest before-", Dawn immediately stopped and shivered when she heard a twig snapped. Paul was the one who accidentally stepped on the twig and cursed himself for not being careful  
"W-who's there!? Show yourself!" Said Dawn before unsheathing a knife hidden on her bag "I've got a knife! Not just an ordinary knife, but a poison-coated one!"

'I was wrong about the defenseless part, but better safe than sorry!', Paul thought before moving to a new location  
Then suddenly, a huge bear came out from the bushes (opposite of Paul's direction) and roared, scaring some of the birds away; Dawn stepped back with fear as she watched the hungry bear roar. The bear ran towards Dawn, and Dawn continued stepping back until her back hit the wall; Dawn shrieked, thinking that she was going to die. But an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the bear's neck, making it stop; but the bear continued walking towards Dawn until it fell to the ground, back first.

'The arrow was coated with poison...' Dawn thought as she sighed with relief. She wanted to thank the one who saved her but she didn't know where he is nor where the arrow came from, instead, she yelled "Hey! Whoever you are, thank you for saving me!"  
"No problem" Paul yelled back. Dawn giggled while the birds that are watching them face-palmed before flying away.

* * *

_A few minutes later, in the Petalburg Castle  
_

* * *

By the time Ash arrived at the castle (he was still half-naked); he sprinted at the hallways of the castle and arrived at the throne room shortly after. He saw King Norman and Queen Caroline, along with 5 elite knights and 3 servants. He kneeled in front of the King  
"Your Majesty, you need to leave the kingdom now!" said Ash while looking down at the ground. King Norman placed a hand on Ash's shoulder; when Ash looked up, he saw King Norman with a weak smile  
"Don't worry about us Ash, we'll fight until the end, but I need you to get May away from here" King Norman said as he raised his sword, the sword reflected light and looked pretty strong. Ash glanced at Queen Caroline  
"But what about-?" Ash asked but was cut short by Queen Caroline  
"I can wield a bow, but before you leave, promise us that you will protect our daughter, that you will always keep her away from harm"  
"Yes Your Majesty" answered Ash as he stood up  
"And Ash, I want you to have this" said King Norman as he gave Ash a brown sphere "This is the Earth Sphere, and I believe that this is what they are after, I want you to keep this away from them" Ash nodded in agreement. Ash took the sphere and placed on his fanny pack. He was about to leave the throne room but saw May crying in front of the door

"Father, mother, don't tell me…" May said while holding Max "you're gonna leave me alone…"  
Norman walked in front of her daughter and said "May, you need to leave this place now, it's not safe to be here anymore"  
"But what about you?" replied May while wiping her tears away  
"Just go, don't worry about us" Caroline said "Ash is going to be your guardian, he'll protect you and get you away from here"  
"No! I don't want to go! I'll stay here with you!" May said while sobbing. Ash placed a hand on May's shoulder  
"May, let's go, it's for your own-"Ash tried to explain but immediately stopped when the doors opened and revealed Barry, along with several other soldiers

"What a nice performance we're having here, but too bad, we're here to break the party!" Barry said while readying his sword "Now tell me, old man, where's the earth sphere?"

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter. I'll try to update as soon as possible to make up for not updating ASAP.  
Also, please don't forget to review!  
Until next time,  
Armored Shiny**


	5. Chapter 5: New Friends

**Sorry guys for the VERY late update, it's just I'm really busy, please forgive me :(  
Also I've rewritten the previous chapters, so if you haven't read the updated chapters, I would recommend you to do so.  
But it's your choice, I've only made each chapter a little bit longer and corrected the mistakes I've noticed.  
5/15/2013 - I've updated Chapters 1,2 and 4  
5/28/2014- I've updated Chapter 3**

**One last thing,  
Read and Please Review**

* * *

**Chapter 5: New Friends**

* * *

Prince Barry came inside the throne room alongside several other soldiers, cornering Ash and the others  
"I'll ask again, where's the earth sphere?" Barry asked impatiently. The remaining Petalburg knights unsheathed their swords, preparing to fight back  
"It's too late to escape now…!" Queen Caroline said while readying her bow  
"No, there's still a way" Ash replied. Ash took Max and placed him on his head, after that, he carried May bridal style and charged towards the wall. The force of the impact created a huge hole which allowed Ash to escape. But unfortunately, the ground was about 15 feet below them. Even though Ash was still exhausted because of the earlier events, he closed his eyes, and then dark wings sprouted from his back. He jumped off from the building and flapped his wings to soften their fall.

After they reached the ground, Ash fell to his knees while breathing heavily  
"Ash, the stables are not far away from here, maybe we could grab a horse and leave this place" May said with a sad voice as he took Max from Ash's head and placed it in her shoulder. The thought about leaving the Kingdom and what would happen to May's parents really saddened her; she don't want to leave, she wanted to save her parents along with the kingdom, but it seemed impossible.  
"No, it's already too late; the Twinleaf soldiers are probably scattered throughout the kingdom, stealing everything they can while looking for survivors to become slaves" Ash replied as he tried to stand up "We need to go now, I'm sure they are already looking for us"  
May nodded in agreement. They started running away from the area, but a memory came to Ash's mind. A memory where he and his brother were running in the woods, trying to escape from the Twinleaf soldiers that burned their beloved village, along with the villagers there.  
After a few seconds of running, Ash tripped on a root and fell to ground, knee-first. Ash groaned in pain as he stroked his foot

"You really need to be more careful next time Ash. Also, who's this girl, and why are half-naked?" toned a voice that came from the bushes. May jumped from what she heard and hurried to Ash's side. A purple-haired boy, about as young as Ash, came out of the bushes and introduced himself  
"No, don't be afraid, lady, I'm a good friend of Ash" the purple-haired boy said as he walked towards Ash and helped him stand "My name is Paul, a member of the Mercenaries' Guild, and a good friend of Ash"  
"What are you doing here, Paul?" asked Ash as he tried to stand steadily without the support of Paul  
"Hunting" was all that Paul said before he hurriedly hid in the bushes. Ash was curious about what was Paul really doing, and when he saw that he was spying on a young, beautiful bluenette, he smacked the back of Paul's head, making him scream in pain. The bluenette was startled at what she heard and backed away until her back touched a tree  
"Look what you have done, Ash" Paul said as he walked out of the bushes "Look, I'm sorry for startling you, but I mean no harm"  
"W-who are you?!" The bluenette asked, but when she saw that Paul had a bow and a quiver strapped on his back, she immediately realized that he was not an enemy "Are you the one that saved me earlier?"  
"Y-yes, it was me, milady" Paul stammered as he faced the ground while scratching the back of his head. Ash just sweat-dropped at the sight of the two, but the moment didn't last long; they heard marching of soldiers not far away from them  
"Paul, we need to leave now…!" Ash whispered while trying to pull his friend away  
"Why?" Paul asked curiously as he struggled not to be pulled away by Ash  
"I'll explain later, right now, we need to leave" Paul just nodded in agreement; by the time Ash was about to pick-up May, he saw Paul walking towards the bluenette  
"I understand, and I'm coming with you" the bluenette said before Paul could say anything. Paul was surprised at what the bluenette said, he wanted to ask 'why', but the marching started to get louder, meaning the soldiers are coming closer. Paul grabbed the bluenette's hand and started following Ash and May. Even though Ash's foot was injured and he was exhausted, he still ran as fast as he could, not wanting to slow down the group.  
"Hey Ash, won't you mind me asking, but, where exactly are we going?" Paul asked between breaths  
"I don't know eith-"Ash didn't finish his sentence when he hit something because he was not looking at where he was going. When Paul and the others finally caught up to Ash, they saw Ash lying on the ground unconscious. He bumped on a two-wheeled cart being pulled by two horses. There were two men riding the horses, one of them had spiky brown hair and squinty eyes, he was about 40 years old and is wearing the same clothes that peasants wear; the other one looked exactly the same as the first one, except he's about 19 years old

"Is that you, princess?! What are you doing here?" The older one asked  
"Could you please give us a ride? We need to escape from the Twinleaf soldiers" May answered  
"The Twinleaf soldiers?! What happened to the King and the Queen?" The younger one asked curiously. May was about to answer his question, but Ash immediately stood, which scared May a little  
"We'll explain everything later, right now, we need to leave" Ash said while using the cart as support  
"Of course, make yourself comfortable" The older one answered  
Ash, hopped in the cart while being supported by Paul. After riding the two-wheeled cart, the two strangers commanded the horses to start walking.

Ash and May were at the right side of the cart while Paul and Dawn were at the left side of the cart while watching the large, dark smokes that are coming from the castle and the kingdom  
"Hey, I still don't know your name, so… could you please introduce yourself to me, milady?" Paul asked, acting like a gentleman  
"My name is Dawn, the daughter of Queen Johanna, the princess of-" Dawn answered proudly, but was interrupted when Ash unsheathed a knife and pointed it on Dawn's neck "T-trust me! I'm not like my mother! In fact I'm against her plans, I even left our kingdom to warn you guys on what's going to happen, but I was too late!"  
"Oh really? Give us a reason to believe in you" Ash said coldly  
"Well… If I'm not on your side, then I could've helped the soldiers on capturing you" Dawn answered nervously  
"I think she's telling the truth Ash; besides, I saw her a while ago in the forest, and she seemed to be lost" Paul said as he grabbed Ash hand gently and putted the knife away from Dawn. Ash just sighed in defeat; he sheathed his knife and crossed his arms. He turned towards the two peasants that are riding the horses"Could you please tell us your names? And how did you recognized May?" Ash asked the two strangers. The strangers glanced at Ash for a few seconds before turning back at the road  
"My name is Flint, and this is my son, Brock. We are the former castle guards of Petalburg" Flint introduced  
"Former guards? You mean the guards that love to play cards and board games all the time?" Ash asked rudely  
"Y-yeah, that was us" Flint answered while laughing awkwardly  
"I remember you too, but why did you get fired?" May asked curiously  
"Ahaha, about that…"

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

_"I'm starting to get bored… Let's play chess, shall we?" Flint offered  
"What if the King sees us?" Brock asked in a worried tone  
"Oh c'mon! We've played chess countless times while on duty! Are you still not used to this?"  
Brock just let out a sigh of defeat, he left his father in front of the castle gates for a while, and when he returned, he was carrying a small table with a chessboard on top. The two guards then readied the chess board, but unfortunately for them, the king was taking his morning walk in the garden_

_The two was playing chess peacefully but suddenly, the King came out of nowhere and flipped the table, scattering the pieces all over the ground. When the two looked at the King, they saw that he was extremely angry  
"What do you think you're doing?! You were supposed to guard the castle!" The king exclaimed with an infuriated voice "You two are fired! And I don't want to see your faces in this kingdom again!"  
The king's voice echoed through the whole kingdom, and the two guards ran away with fear_

* * *

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"And that's the reason why we're no longer working as guards in the castle, but as mere peasants. But it's okay, as long as we have each other" Flint explained as he placed his hand on his son's shoulder  
"I feel happy for you guys… but…" May said as her eyes became teary. Ash wrapped his arms around May as she sobbed uncontrollably on Ash's chest  
"Guys, bad news. There's a checkpoint up ahead, and they're probably looking for the princess!" Brock warned  
"Hey Paul, do you have a cloak?" Ash asked as he let go of May and took a cloak from his fanny pack  
"Yeah, I have one" Paul answered as he took a black cloak from his bag. Ash wore his cloak and took Paul's  
"Calm down May, everything's gonna be alright…" Ash said as he donned the cloak on May. May nodded and wiped her tears away.  
A few seconds later, the caravan was blocked by four soldiers. They weren't wearing heavy armor, but only leather clothing

"Inspect the caravan!" The leader ordered. The other soldiers then started inspecting the small cart, they commanded Ash and the others to jump off the cart so that they could scrutinize them  
"Wait, I think I saw you before" one of the soldiers said while pointing at Dawn "Is that you princess?!"  
"Who, me? I'm not the princess, but a lot of people mistaken me as the princess" Dawn lied.  
One of the soldiers was about to inspect the supplies at the cart but Max scratched the soldier's hand. The soldier was infuriated at what the kitten did, so he stabbed Max with a knife and threw him towards the river  
"Max!" May exclaimed; she was about to go to Max but the soldiers blocked her  
"Could you please take off your cloaks? After that we would let you pass" the second one requested, but Ash and May didn't respond. The soldier was about to take off Ash's hood himself but Ash grabbed his arm and thrusted a dagger into his stomach and head butted him. Ash stole the soldier's sword and used it to kill the remaining soldiers. One of the soldiers was about to escape but was shot by an arrow in the back by Paul

"Let's go, it's not safe here anymore." Ash commanded as he hopped in the cart along with the others. He also noticed that May was about to go to Max. He jumped off the cart and ran towards May, he hugged May tightly but May struggled to break free  
"May! He's already dead, we need to go now!"  
"No! Don't say such things! He's not dead…!" May exclaimed as she sobbed and fell to her knees "Why is this happening to me… everyone… my parents, Max, even the guards and servants that I befriended! I feel alone, I feel like Arceus really hates me!"  
"May, everything is going to be alright, I'm here; I'm here to protect you. Please, please don't cry" Ash said as he hugged May tighter "Seeing you smile completes my day; so please, allow me to protect… the woman I love…"  
May then wiped her tears and turned towards Ash  
"Thank you Ash, thank you for being there for me" May said as she put on a weak smile "Let's go, I don't want you to be worried"  
Ash smirked as he and May went to the cart.

"Where's your next destination?" Ash asked Flint and Brock by the time he hopped on the cart  
"Hmm… Our next destination would be Slateport City, it would be the best place to buy some supplies… and clothes" Flint said as he looked at Ash and May. Ash was half-naked, while May was still wearing her sleeping garments

Half an hour later, Flint and Brock decided to make a camp  
"We need to set up a camp here, it's getting late" Brock said as he noticed that Ash and the others are tired  
Flint and Brock stopped at the river bank and took some supplies from the cart and started a fire. Flint offered the two girls to use their sleeping bags; May declined the offer but Dawn accepted and used Brock's sleeping bag. Ash sat and leaned his back on a tree; Paul climbed up a tree and decided to sleep on its branches.  
Ash was about to close his eyes and sleep but…

"Ash… wake up…!" May whispered while shaking Ash  
"Y-yes? What is it?" Ash said while rubbing his eyes  
"Ash, I can't sleep…"  
"Why won't you just take Flint's sleeping bag?" Ash asked while taking off his gauntlets  
"He's already asleep, and I'm not used to sleeping without a bed and a pillow" May answered embarrassedly. Ash just let out a sigh of defeat; he spread out his legs and gestured May to sit in front of him; May blushed deeply red and did what Ash told her to do. She sat in front of Ash and leaned on his chest  
'His body is warm, and he's so… sexy' May mentally slapped herself because of what she thought 'Oh what am I thinking!''  
Ash then wrapped his arms around May and rested his chin on her head  
"Is this better?" Ash asked with concern. May didn't respond, instead she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. Ash noticed that she was already asleep when May started snoring  
'She must be really tired' Ash thought as he smiled warmly

* * *

_The Next Day_

* * *

It was a peaceful day and there was no sign of the Twinleaf soldiers; birds were chirping happily, bats were peacefully sleeping upside-down, and our main protagonists are still sleeping… well, some of them  
"Romeo! Juliet! Food is ready!" Paul yelled at the sleeping pair  
"W-wha? What happened?" Ash asked drowsily as he rubbed his eyes. May stood up with squinty eyes and went to the river to wash her face; Ash also followed and did the same. After they washed their faces, they sat on a chair in front of a foldable table. Brock served the two a plateful of stew. Ash started eating the stew like he hasn't eaten in days, after a few seconds he finished his food and let out a burp. But he noticed that May was eating slowly while in deep thought  
"May, are you okay?" Ash asked with a concerned tone  
"H-huh? Y-yeah, I'm fine" May stammered as she snapped out of her trance

"Hey May, how is your sleep last night?" Dawn asked with a smile  
"It's okay, why did you ask?" May asked curiously while eating her food slowly  
"Oh nothing!" Dawn answered while laughing awkwardly

Ash just ignored the two and asked a question to Paul  
"Hey Paul, how long would it take before we reach Slateport?" Ash asked while tapping his fingers on the table  
"Hmm, maybe a few hours. Also, there's a blacksmith there who's a friend of mine, you could ask him to forge you a new weapon, since you lost your old one" Paul answered while finishing his stew. Ash then took something from his fanny pack; he took the earth sphere and held it on his palm. Flint and the others were surprised  
"The Earth sphere?! That's what my mother was looking for!" Dawn exclaimed  
"King Norman gave this sphere to me before we escaped; he said that I should protect this sphere and keep it away from the Twinleaf soldiers..." Ash said while polishing the sphere with a piece of cloth  
"The Earth sphere, along with the other spheres, are said to hold immense power, but no one other than Alexander knows how to use it" Flint hinted "but, why do they even wanted that sphere?"  
"My mother wanted to revive Alexander; she already had the water and the fire sphere" Dawn answered  
"Revive Alexander?! That's horrible!" Brock exclaimed  
"Wait! We already have the Earth sphere, while Johanna had the Water and the Fire Sphere, so the only one missing is the Thunder sphere" Paul said  
"We might as well ask the merchants in Slateport, they could also be trusted… sometimes" Brock commented

* * *

_Meanwhile in Twinleaf Kingdom_

* * *

Queen Johanna was sitting on her throne, thinking of her next moves. Barry came inside the room  
"Barry, report what happened on our attack at Petalburg" Queen Johanna  
"We haven't found the Earth sphere, we already killed Queen Caroline and tortured King Norman, but he still won't tell us the whereabouts of the Earth Sphere" Barry reported "The princess also escaped along with Ash, so we suspect that the Princess had the Earth Sphere; I've already sent a search party to find the princess"  
"How about Gary?" Queen Johanna asked  
"He had not returned yet, it would take a few more days before he return" Barry answered  
"Well then, you could leave the throne room now, I still had some things to think of" Queen Johanna said as she stood up and looked through the large window  
"Wait! One more thing, Princess Dawn is missing; nobody knows where she is or how she escaped" Barry continued his report  
"What!? I want you to find her immediately!" Queen Johanna exclaimed. Barry rushed out of the room to create another search party to find Dawn.

_A few hours later, in Slateport City_

Ash and the others arrived at Slateport; Ash and May are wearing their cloaks and was looking for a shop that sells clothes. There were a lot of people, and most of them are travelling merchants  
"Ash, I'm just wondering, but why are there so many people in here?" May asked curiously  
"This place had the largest port in region, a lot of merchants from other places usually visit this place to trade their goods; plus there are a lot of shops here." Ash explained

"Ash, May, we're going to buy some supplies over there" Flint said while pointing towards a shop at their west "The shop that you are looking for is somewhere over there" Flint hinted as he pointed east "Let's meet up at the light house at sunset"  
"Okay, thanks Flint, I really appreciate your help"  
"My pleasure" Flint said as he waved goodbye

The group then asked the local residents some directions. After a few minutes of searching and walking, they finally found what they were looking for. The shop was relatively bigger than the others, and there were a lot of clothes. Paul and Dawn decided to wait outside (Dawn actually wanted to buy some clothes but she forgot to bring some money).  
A few minutes later, Ash and May stepped out of the shop. May was wearing a green bandanna, an orange sleeveless shirt and black biking shorts. Ash on the other hand was wearing a white coat, with a white T-shirt underneath, he was also wearing black pants (he was no longer wearing the metal greaves)  
"Hey Ash isn't it more comfortable wearing light clothing rather than your old, heavy armor?" May asked while smiling warmly. Ash just sighed  
"Yeah, it's more comfortable, but I like my armor better, it gives me… protection" Ash answered  
"It's still noon, maybe we should explore this place, you coming with us Ash?" Paul suggested  
"No, I still need to find the blacksmith that you're talking about" Ash declined "But maybe you should be able to find some information regarding the Thunder sphere. I'll just find the blacksmith myself"  
"Okay, see you later at the light house" Paul said as went to the opposite direction of Ash's

After a few minutes of walking, Ash heard some hammering of metal  
'That should be the blacksmith that Paul was talking about' Ash thought  
Ash saw a small stand with a tall, bald man with a huge beer belly hammering a sword's blade on top of an anvil. There's also a display of dangerous weapons on the wall behind him. He walked towards the man and before he could say anything…  
"Hey Ash! Long time no see! Don't you recognize me?!" The man yelled as he pulled him towards a chair  
'No, I certainly don't recognize you' Ash thought  
"Y-yeah! I think I've seen you before, I just don't remember when and where" Ash said as he put on a fake smile "Look, I'm here to buy some weapons so if you don't mind"

Ash was about to stand up but the man placed his right arm on Ash's right shoulder and pointed a knife on his throat  
"I'm sorry kid, but there's a huge reward on someone who could turn you in" The man said coldly "Now where's the other girl?"

* * *

**And That's it!  
Please review :)  
Oh, and sorry for killing a poor defenseless kitten, it's just I won't be needing him in the story anymore, sorry.**


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